Archive for September, 2012

Opening on Labor Day, 2009, Stumptown Coffee Roasters in the Ace Hotel, on the corner of W 29th & Broadway, not only helped launch the nascent NoMad neighborhood (north of Madison Square Park), but also helped usher in the ongoing boom of specialty coffee shop openings in New York City.

Manager Lizz Hudson

To be sure, there was Third Wave coffee to be had in the city before Stumptown came along, but this particular shop was the harbinger of an accelerating wave that shows no signs of abating. There are very few, if any of the original staffers (the ones in these pictures) still working here, and in fact, Stumptown alumni can be found spreading the gospel at many serious coffee shops around the five boroughs (or at least the three we know of that have specialty coffee), including Variety in East Williamsburg, and Cafe Grumpy in Greenpoint.

Flushing’s first specialty coffee shop, Korean-run Cafe De Cupping, on Northern Boulevard, opened a week ago serving Intelligentsia Coffee, tea, and a few Korean bakery items including Honey Bread, Cinnamon Bread, and Cheesecake. Not only is it the first modern indie coffee shop in Flushing, it’s the only shop within 50 blocks of Jackson Heights, going east, Espresso 77 being the previous outlier.

The cafe is attractive, dimly lit, and offers lots of seating, wifi (with a purchase), and plugs. Some of Murray Hill/East Flushing’s best Korean restaurants are nearby, and in fact, we stumbled upon Cafe De Cupping while visiting BCD Tofu House across the street.

Stellina, one of our favorite gelato shops, reopened last week on the Lower East Side, sans seating. Now it’s only an Allen Street window serving Counter Culture espresso, coffee, gelato, and some food. We haven’t tried the coffee yet.

The dark chocolate gelato is still dark and cocoa-y, perhaps just a bit over-sweet and melty, but hey, it was their first day. We’re assuming that they’re going to expand their next-door wine bar Sorella, which has been closed for quite some time now, around behind the window, using the former Stellina space for expansion.